Saturday, October 25, 2008

My fellow Americans.The Bicycle Escape, in conjunction with M.O.R.E., will be hosting bi-weekly night rides at Gambrill State Park on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month. These rides will begin on November 5th and run through the March 18th.Gambrill offers some of the most technical terrain in the region so these rides are for experienced mountain bikers only. It is also necessary to have a high quality lighting system. These are specialty, high powered lights with a minimum output of 10 watts or greater. Safe and properly functioning equipment is required by all riders. Helmets will be required to be worn by all riders at all times.The ride will leave from the main trailhead parking lot located off of Gambrill Park Road. The parking is on the right as you climb the mountain, if you reach an intersection at the top of the mountain, you have gone too far.RSVP will be required for each ride. We are in the park with special permission and space is limited. If you RSVP and for some reason cannot make the ride, please let us know as soon as possible so we can allow room for a replacement rider.Rides will leave from the parking area at 7:00 p.m. sharp and will last approximately 2 hours. Please allow enough time upon your arrival to sign-in, prepare yourself for the ride and be ready to hit the trail on time. Liability waivers must be signed by all riders and parking passes will be issued for each vehicle. These parking passes must be displayed on all vehicles! We must be out of the park by 10:00pm.Pace for the rides will be moderate. Speed is not as important as technical riding ability.Because this ride exists with special permission from the Department of Natural Resources riders must follow the guidelines below in order to participate.* The group must stay together at all times* Keep noise to a minimum* Do not disturb wildlife* Respect park rules* Follow the guidelines set forth by Tread LightlyAs is the case with the Schaefer Night Rides Space Is Limited. Currently we have 20 slots open per ride. Please RSVP here:Info and Sign Up here: http://www.thebicycleescape.com/nightrides.html

Thursday, October 23, 2008

A good customer of mine had his Jamis Komodo 2.0 stolen at the MARC train station in Frederick. This is the second report this week of cut bike locks. I am sad to report the $20 lock may no longer be sufficient for Frederick. Please help keep an eye out.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

We just received our first shipment of electric assist bicycles from Giant. The Giant Freedom Twist DX is unlike other electric bikes I have come in contact with over the years. The Freedom employs what Giant calls Hybrid Technology. The motor kicks in when the rider is pedaling rather than as a result of twisting a throttle. Riding the Freedom Twist is like having a constant brisk gust of wind at your back as you pedal. The motor is housed in the front hub and the batteries are hidden in the left and right rear bags fixed securely to the rack. The rider controls which battery powers the motor as well as which gear the bicycle is in by manipulating controls on the handlebar. The gears themselves are the super reliable and low maintenance Shimano Nexus internally geared rear hub.

Now listen up all you naysayers, haters, and general wankers. I don’t want any negative comments about this (or similar products) not being a "real bike". This bike was designed for a specific type of bike rider and if that is not you, fine. To be frank it is not me. But than again I am a 28 year old man in decent physical condition with well over a decade of cycling experience. If I was 68 and recovering from knee replacement surgery I might have a very different point of view. I also might want the bike if were a casual rider who lived in downtown Frederick, DC, Rockville, etc. were an electric bicycle is a cheap, practical, reliable, and sustainable way to get around. Electric bikes might even be a way to attract more people into the cycling community. Nuff said.

My plan is to ride a Twist to the shop and blog about my experiences. So check back soon.

Friday, October 17, 2008

This was a very fun project built for Ken. He plans to use the bike as a light touring rig and as a general road bike that he can take with him on travel. The steel Independent Fabrication Club Racer is built with S&S Couplers and Sram Force components. The King Cages, headset top cap, and Tubus rack were powder coated to match the aesthetic of the bike. To further tie the bike together I put an accent pin stripe on the fenders. I wish all bike builds were like this! You can see more pictures here.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Attention Chris King fans! The Chris King Bottom Brackets have arrived and are now for sale at Ye Old Bicycle Escape. We have not received our entire shipment (the fun colors are still in production) but non-the-less several are here now and ready to go. There are a lot of similarities to their headsets and if the quality and durability are half as good I think everyone will be pleased.

Monday, October 06, 2008

This weekend Danielle and I (well, Danielle) broke in one of the new TBE Demo bikes, a Specialized Women’s SafireFSR. We rode at the Frederick Water Shed and the weather was beautiful as was the ride. We even saw a fox which I think is a good omen. Unless of course it is a rabid fox…

Friday, October 03, 2008

We just had the honor of assembling Chuck's Independent Fabrication Factory Lightweight. The frame has a lot of gorgeous finish work. Chuck chose hand painted stars to accent the frame. On the fork he had the IF crown painted. The bike tips the scale at 18.07 lbs (with pedals, cage, and computer) but more importantly the ride is amazing- I should know I ride one too :) More Pictures Here.